The Losing Hand
by free-vibe
Summary: UPDATED! We all know Remy is good, but when he stumbles on one of the X-Men's secrets, he just might have met his match. Chapter 2- Liz's chapter is explained.
1. Shopping Fun

Dis: I own nada, zip, zero, nothing!

A/N: I pulled my first X-Men story because it was bad. This isn't much better. If you read please review. Happy ficin'.

Grocery shopping for a regular household can take around an hour and cost about $100-$200. The X-Mansion is not a regular household. The X-Mansion is more, much, much, more.  
  
Remy hated going out with the X-kids, and shopping for food with 4 hungry teenage mutants was not his idea of fun.  
  
"I'll be back. None of the kids can get Logan's beer."  
  
Scott left from his position in the middle of the pack. They had three shopping carts full of food, plus whatever the brats had in their hands. Remy went through the lists he had and prayed to the heavens that they had remembered everything. He flinched when he thought of the last time he forgot Rouge's cookies. He was dodging end tables for an hour after he got back.  
  
One of the boys that was with the lady in front of them swiped a candy bar and put it in his pocket.  
  
"Beginner," he whispered to himself. Then he laughed and wondered if anyone else saw, or if he only saw because he knew how to do it better.  
  
Remy put the lists in his jacket pocket next to his deck of cards and the candy bar HE swiped. The cashier finished with the items on the belt then stuck a hand out at the boy who looked at her with wide eyes.  
  
"You're nothing special. Now, hand it over or I'm calling the manager."  
  
The mother looked confused and a little appalled at what the cashier was doing, but then blushed in embarrassment as her son pulled out the candy bar from his pocket."  
  
Remy laughed again as the mother tried to explain that he just forgot about the candy bar in his pocket.  
  
"Hey that lane has less people. Why don't we go over there" Remy looked at where one of the kids was pointing. He didn't know who the kid was, only that he was in the car on the way to the store.  
  
"No," Scott said returning empty handed. "This is the lane we check out in. You guys can go to the car, but if it moves an inch you will wish you had never come along."  
  
The four kids dropped their items on top of the already full carts and made their way out.  
  
"Beer?" Remy asked remembering he didn't pick any up for himself either.  
  
"You and Logan can come back later. Lets just get this stuff home."  
  
Remy started unpacking the first cart when he received an unhappy greeting from the girl behind the cash register. He looked up and realized he recognized the girl. She was tall and beautiful in a unique way, just don't let Rouge hear him say that. She had long dark blonde hair that was braided down to the middle of her back. Her blue eyes seemed to glow from her tan skin. Her voice hid what sounded to be a slight southern accent.  
  
Scott had picked the same line he goes to every week with the same checker. She glanced past Remy and gave Scott a look that let him know she wasn't happy. How could she be? Every week they show up with three to four carts full of stuff and teenagers running around like wild. Hell, he hated being there and he only had to go once a month.  
  
"Ya got a good eye. What's ya name?" Remy asked noticing she wasn't wearing a nametag.  
  
"What's it to you?" she asked staring at his sunglasses.  
  
"Just wanna know a pretty girl's name."  
  
"Her name is Elizabeth," Scott said dropping four cases of soda on the belt.  
  
"It's Liz, Summers."  
  
"You know you should be thankful to get this much business. With out us you wouldn't have a job," Scott told the girl, crossing his arms.  
  
"With out you, life would be simple." She didn't look up, but kept running the many barcodes over a sheet of glass.  
  
"So I guess you don't want your envelope this week?"  
  
She stopped. Remy was confused. Scott knew the girl, that was obvious, but what's with the envelope?  
  
"516 and 53 cents is the total."  
  
"That's smaller than last time, did we forget anything?"  
  
"Beer?" Remy didn't want to come back.  
  
"Later."  
  
Scott gave Liz a credit card then took out a white envelope. She automatically grabbed it out of Scott's hand and counted the bundle of bills.  
  
"It's short." She said counting it again.  
  
"We had a little traffic problem this morning," Scott said packing the last bag.  
  
"It'll do."  
  
"I'll give you another twenty if you come to dinner."  
  
"Ya know Summers, that might just be the worst pick up line ever."  
  
Remy and Scott somehow were able to get all the bags packed into two carts and were headed for the door when Liz pulled Remy back by his coat.  
  
"You forgot your receipt."  
  
Her smile was wide, unlike before. He always knew he had a way with the ladies, Scott was just making them mad.  
  
Remy got back to the car and helped Scott pack all the bags in the backs of the two vehicles they brought. He reached into his pocket to hand Scott the receipt.  
  
"HEY!" he yelled at the kids. "Who took Remy's cards! And da candy!"  
  
He searched his memory back to... the girl, Liz, but how? Did she know about him, just like she knew about the kid? The candy bar was nothing to him, but the deck of cards, now that he wanted back.  
  
Scott's sports car was unpacked first, then Remy's jeep. By the time the last bags were brought in, no one wanted to help anymore.  
  
Remy was in the freezer putting ice cream away when Logan came in. "I want my beer, and I want it now."  
  
So again, Remy was back in his jeep heading towards the store, but this time Logan sat next to him. There was a cop in the middle of the intersection directing traffic. The stoplights were out. Wait, didn't Scott say something about the traffic to Liz?  
  
"Hey Logan, do ya know dis Liz at da store?  
  
"What about her Cajun?" he said puffin on a cigar.  
  
"How does Scott know her?"  
  
"It's along story. All I know is that Scott wants to recruit her for some reason or another."  
  
"Mutant?" Remy was surprised.  
  
"Damn right."  
  
They went inside and raided the liquor department. They got Rouge's tequila, Remy's Vodka, Scott's hard lemonade, and Logan's beer. They had enough to last the X-mansion a month or one wild party. Ready to go pay, Logan grabbed a case of Triple Black and threw it in the cart.  
  
"Whose dat for?"  
  
"A friend."  
  
They got in the same line with Liz still working. Remy grabbed another candy bar and decided to pay for this one. Liz gave a short smile when she saw this.  
  
"Anything else?" she asked.  
  
"You don't happen ta have playin' cards now do ya?"  
  
"Sorry, fresh out."  
  
Remy and Liz exchanged glances while Logan pulled out a checkbook that had Scott's name on it. He wrote out a check and handed it to Liz while she looked over their purchases smiling slightly.  
  
"My change?" Logan demanded holding out his hand.  
  
Liz slipped a twenty out of the white envelope she now had in her pocket and handed it to him  
  
Remy was now completely confused about what to think of this Liz.


	2. Dinner Conversation

Dis: I own nada. LALALALA!

A/N: I tried to fix it, i don't know why this story is being so putzy. HAPPY FICIN'!

Remy went up to his room to put away his alcohol. He lived in a school; he couldn't just leave it out for the kids to have. He grabbed the bag with Rouge's stuff in it and headed to the other end of the mansion. He knocked on her door and opened it when he heard the 'come in'. Rogue was digging through a box of movies while Jean was sitting on her bed. Remy knew he had just interrupted some type of 'girl talk'. He placed the brown bag on Rouge's desk and sat down next to Jean.

"So, you met Liz?" Jean said after a while making Rouge look up.

He looked at her confused, then felt stupid when he remembered she could read minds.

"Yeah, and Remy don't know what ta think of her."

"She makes a strong first impression, but she's got more bark than bite. She also is wise beyond her years. Don't let her youth fool you."

"How old is she?"

"19, so don't ya go thinkin bout anything Swamp Rat," Rouge chimed in smacking him on the back of his head.

"Wait, ya knew about her?"

"Of course, most of the adults know." Jean checked her watch. "Shoot, I'm meeting Scott for dinner. I'll talk to you two tomorrow."

Jean left and Remy laid on his stomach making himself comfortable on the bed. Rouge noticed the package Remy brought and smiled as she put it in her mini refrigerator.

"Well chere, what are we goin ta do for suppa?" he asked her resting his head on a pillow.

"Ah heard about this great Italian place in the city, wanna try it out?"

"Why not, I've had enough of the lil ones for today."

An ten later the two took off in Remy's jeep for the city. They were seated in a private booth in the corner of the restaurant.

"Ya didn't by chance hear 'bout this place from Jean? Did ya?" Remy asked removing his faded brown coat to reveal a pair of blue jeans and a black sweater.

"Yeah, why d'ya ask?" she said not looking up from her menu.

"'Cuz she's over der waitin for Scott."

Rouge looked up to where he gestured. Sure enough, Jean sat at a table in the middle of the room all by herself. She was dressed in black slacks and a dark red sleeveless top. Minutes later Scott walked up to the table followed by Liz.

"Now Remy is completely confused," he said not taking his eyes off of the three.

"Leave dem be," Rouge said sharply. "Dis night is for us."

"Yeah, well..." he said looking at her. "I wonder wat dey be talkin about."

At the other table...

"How nice of you to join us Liz," Jean said giving a smile. "Please sit."

"Lets not make this anything its not Jean. I am here for the meal and the money Summers owes me."

Jean gave a look at Scott. "_What did you do now?_" She thought as they sat down.

"What did I have to do?" he said out loud.

"So, how are you Liz?"

Liz looked away and ordered a glass of lemonade. Why is it that that question means more to some people that it does to others? She knew what Jean was doing. She always did this when they were together in a public place so that Liz had no choice but to go along.

Liz's memory flashed to when she was 10 years old. Her father gave her a cup of lemonade while she sat on the porch of their house in a small town outside of Savanna, Georgia.

"Dad, why d'ya have to leave?" her 10 year old memory said with the accent she once had.

"Because da mutant problem ain't going to fix it's self, Beth."

She looked up at the father she respected. He was dressed in his police uniform and was about to leave for his shift. She had forgotten the time when she went by 'Beth'.

"I could help ya, and ya wouldn't get hurt," she said childishly and took a drink of the cool liquid.

"You're a tough girl and someday ya'll make me proud, but not now. Not today."

A sensation of sadness came over her. She didn't make her dad proud now, but one day she would.

"_This is new."_ Jean popped in.

"_I'm drinking lemonade. It just clicked."_

"_Why do you need to make him proud?"_

"_Because he's my father."_

Liz watched as her memory was fast forward to four years later. Her mutation happened when she was going into middle school two years earlier. Her parents flipped knowing that their daughter was one of THEM. What they worked so hard to protect their family from, ends up to BE their own daughter. Her mother took her out of school and put her under house arrest while her father went from doctor to doctor to find 'The Cure'. After what was close to a year, they gave up. On this night everything came to a head.

Liz rarely saw her father then, he switched to night shifts to avoid being around his own child. He worked all night and slept all day and was drunk in between. Tonight he was off duty and drunk. Liz had worked up the courage to confront him. She found him sitting in the living room with his fifth beer of that night. She walked in the room and stood in front of him.

"Wat d'ya want mutie?" he said in a half shout.

"It wasn't mah choice ta become dis. Ah never wanted it," she yelled back.

"Ah'm so sure. Ya always tried to disappoint me. Ya got fourth place in da science fair when ya were nine. Den, ya lost ya soccer championship when ya were eleven. Now, ya turn mutie." He sloshed over to his cabinet while spilling his drink.

"So all mah life ya've never been proud of meh?" she said in amazement.

He turned and faced her pointing his gun. "Ah ain't never gonna be proud of any mutie. You ain't mah daughter and ya ain't mah family. Now get out of mah house and never come back."

He shot the gun off and it hit five feet to her left. She ran as fast as she could towards her room. After she pushed her desk in front of the door she gabbed her dad's old police bag and filled it with whatever she could find that was important. Throwing the bag over her shoulder she shimmied down the tree like she did whenever she was grounded. She got out of that state as fast as she could.

"_You have to accept the past and move on,"_ Jean chirped in again.

"_Ah have," _Liz thought still with a thick southern accent.

"_But have you accepted who you are?"_

Bits and pieces of the last five years flew in front of her eyes. She met the X-Men, who tried to make her everything that her family was against. She then ran away from the X-Men and tried to end her life, too bad Summers was there to stop her. They eventually cut a deal. She would be their little secret. No one had to know that she was connected to the leaders of the pro-mutant movement and they could make sure that she was safe and sound away from harm. In secret she felt that there was still hope that she could still become the daughter her father always wanted.

"Are you ready to order?" the waitress said snapping both Liz and Jean back into reality.

While Scott ordered his sea food Jean put her hand on Liz's shoulder.

"You are always welcome with us."

"You don't get it," Liz's voice grew dead. "I don't want to be welcomed."

A/N: Anyone get what I'm trying to do here? Long story short. Liz's father is a cop in Georgia who hates mutants. Liz was kicked out after her father could not 'fix' her. She ran away only to have the X-Men find her. After she realized that she would never make her father proud she tried to kill herself only to have Scott Summers stop her. They cut a deal that no one would know that she is apart of them and the X-Men would take care of her (money in envelope). Liz still feels that she needs to make her father proud. For now, the only reason she catches Remy's eye is because she stole his cards. (And what is Remy with out his cards?)

I hope this clears up somethings. Please R&R.


End file.
